Page 56 of Royal Games (The Royals of Monterra)

So I talked about something else that bugged me instead, as my anxiety bubbled up. “They seriously just kissed for the first time thirty seconds ago and now they’re jumping into bed together. Whatever happened to all the in-between stuff? The buildup? The courting? They just went from zero to sixty.”

His eyes were unreadable and hooded. Like some giant hawk studying his prey. Which only served to ratchet the tension up to eleventy billion.

I continued, now that I was on a nervous babbling roll. “It’s why I like movies set in different centuries. At least then there are these steps to their romance, a path they travel down before it gets to this point. Nowadays it’s like there’s this big buffet out and everyone just jumps in and piles their plates up and stuffs themselves without even tasting what they’re eating.”

He reached out, running the back of his hand slowly across my cheek. “As opposed to a six-course meal where every course is appreciated, where each dish leads to the next, and it’s savored for hours.”

Whoa. My heart slammed right against my lungs, while the little hairs on the back of my neck stood up. He was so not talking about food.

“A woman should be savored,” he said against my lips, nibbling on them like I tasted delicious. That managed to shut my stupid, talkative brain and mouth down. We made out for a while, and I’d felt very savored afterward.

But I worried that we had wandered into a new place, one completely outside of my comfort zone.

And I felt that way now, too, like I didn’t know what I was doing or what I wanted or how to get there. More uncharted territory. And I didn’t know if I wanted him to boldly go where no man had gone before.

“Genesis, I need to explain—”

He broke off when my aunt came back. Aunt Sylvia wore a disappointed expression when she reentered the room with her drink. Like she was some kind of reverse chaperone and she’d hoped to catch us doing something but was let down that we weren’t.

More small talk resumed, and things were going well right up until the moment when it all came crashing down around me.

Sylvia harmlessly mentioned my appearance in Iowa City the next night.

“I’ll go with you,” Rafe said. Which I might have been fine with if he hadn’t added on the last part: “You can’t go that far at night by yourself.”

“Um, I go that far all the time,” I said. “It’s where I go to school.”

“Considering the current circumstances, I think it’s better if you don’t ever drive into Iowa City by yourself. You need someone to protect you.”

That did it. I dropped my popcorn and stood up, glaring at him. “As refreshingly sexist as that is, I can actually take care of myself. I’ll be driving alone, thanks.”

He jumped to his feet, eyes blazing. “I won’t allow it.”

I really hoped that was some kind of mistranslation on his part, because I was ready to start throwing things. Even Aunt Sylvia looked worried now. “Won’t allow it?” I repeated through gritted teeth, as my melting resolve hardened right back up. “You don’t get a vote. You don’t get to ‘allow’ me to do anything. Can I just remind you that I ran away from the last man who decided what I was allowed to do?”

“This is nothing like that! I’m trying to keep you safe from that man!”

I hated that he was capable of making my emotions bounce all over the place. How he’d made me shift from maybe-this-could-work-out to thinking of ways that I might possibly make his soon-to-take-place homicide look like an accident.

But before I could scream back, Sylvia intervened. “Genesis, I know you can take care of yourself, but it would make me feel better if you’d let Rafe drive you. There’s supposed to be a big storm coming in tomorrow, and I’d rest easier knowing that you weren’t alone. In case something happens.”

The odds of that were so low it was ridiculous. I’d been driving in Iowa winters for almost eight years. Which I might have told her, if she hadn’t been so concerned. It was like she had just dumped a bucket of ice water over my head. I couldn’t stay mad at her. “Fine,” I said, giving in. “I will do it for Sylvia. But there are conditions.”

The fire seemed to have gone out of Rafe as well. “Such as?”

“No bodyguards, and we take my car.” I liked Marco and Gianni, but bodyguards were basically stalkers that you paid. I didn’t want to be stalked.

“Two bodyguards, and I will drive my car. My car that was designed for inclement weather.”

I glanced at Aunt Sylvia, who was becoming more despondent with each passing moment. I could negotiate and give a little. For her sake. “Your car. You can drive. But I am not traveling with an entourage. Still no bodyguards.”

He let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. “Okay. No bodyguards. I’ll work something out with them. But they’re not going to like it.”

Not my problem. If he was going to crash my event, then he could figure out a way to make it work. I also wasn’t going to let him take advantage of our situation. “And no explanation conversations in the car,” I added. If he thought he’d get me alone and try to make this all better after telling me I wasn’t allowed to act like my own person, he had another think coming.

After several long beats he finally said, “Agreed.”

Good. “I have homework,” I said as my good night. I knew I was being terribly rude, but I didn’t care. I needed to cool off. I tried to think of a bright side. I settled on the fact that with Rafe driving, I could probably get some studying done on the way.

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